Lia M

Awesome! I live on Nectar grape and lemonade powders! I add them to water and so I get my water and protein in at the same time. I don't drink anything else! I have no intention of stopping the protein drink train! I'll check these out as well! Thanks for sharing!

Agreed, the first few days are pretty intense. I ate a lot of sugar free popsicles and drank broths. Never got a full popsicle down even...and I actually threw up quite a bit the first two or so days. I am almost 4 months out now, and I can eat anything without issue =)

I don't track mine really, but I do know sometimes when I eat more it seems to make something happen. I think it's just changing up things. Our bodies get used to things, but I would imagine if you do that consistently, it will probably start to go the opposite way..Just a guess though

Mine goes up and down, I weigh a lot as well. Partly because for me it keeps me in check daily. It may not be 100% accurate because of different reasons as stated above, but it just motivates me. If I see a gain, which happens..I hunker down and really stay on track! If I see a loss, I am uplifted and again I hunker down! I weave it in my favor. It would be great if I just "hunker" down in general...and maybe that will come along in time. My fear is if I weigh in once a week, or even once a month that I will "think" I am doing well and then find out, I wasn't doing as well as I thought. Two scales is a lot though! I also posted not to long ago, my blood results were AMAZING for the first time in over 20 years, my results are NORMAL. My cholesterol is good, triglycerides are right on track, blood pressure was perfect...There is a lot going on in that body of yours, not just pounds lost.

I am sorry to hear about your feelings of regret. That has to be heart wrenching. It does get easier to eat out, and maybe the sick feeling is from eating to fast? I know I had a few episodes where I'd get sick, and it was usually from eating too much or too fast. I would definitely talk to someone though. The great news is 40 pounds! That's awesome!

Ha! When I first was out of surgery, and in recovery I DREAMT about food and I wanted to cry everytime I saw a pizza commercial ( which by the way I swear one shows every 15 min! ). Now, I don't think about it at all. I used to eat out almost daily, and I am almost 4 months out and I haven't gone to a fast food place once and haven't even been tempted. It's sort of cool how you start to change...Now....if I could figure out how not to crave crackers....!!

Yeah, I think it's personal preference really. I tell anyone, I am very proud that I was brave enough to do this and am taking control. I figure people judge you no matter what you do, so rather than them judging me for being heavy, let them judge me for doing something about it. If I really didn't want to tell someone, I probably would just say, "The Old Fashioned Way........A LOT of work!" Grins.......

We all mess up, I posted awhile ago how I was downing goldfish crackers like no tomorrow. This is a great tool, but it doesn't take our human nature away. You'll have great days, better days, good days and bad days. I guarantee though, you won't have as bad of days as you would prior. Just think you may have eaten the entire container and washed it down with a few slices of pizza! So, it's a victory in a sense! The beating yourself up, is just as bad of a cycle behavior as the treat....if you think about it......Hang in there!

Hello All.......I was curious, I unfortunately am part of the group having hair loss. Which overall wouldn't be a huge concern but with my PCOS, I already had visibly thinning hair on top. Like, you can see my scalp sort of thinning...Well, it's now slowly turning into a bald spot. My doctor said it should grow back, but of course since I already had an issue....who knows. My decision question is this, I think highlighting it and coloring it will mask it up, as my hair is a dark color over all. I know coloring it has always thickened it up. I am just not sure if treating my hair will make the problem worse? I am doing what I can of course, I take Biotin and I have upped my Protein greatly and use Bosely products. I am of course going to ask my hair dresser, but they don't always know the chemical make up of WLS, PCOS and a Hysterectomy.....Just wanted to get some thoughts from the experts! Since, we are all going through similar things...... Thanks everyone!!!

Yeah, I lost 21 the first week, then it's been on average 2 pounds a week. Slowed up alot!

I am in sales as we call this paralysis by analysis....I agree, this is a big deal. Huge deal. My Surgeon told me that the worst pain is if you have gas pain. I guess for some it's pretty awful, but walking around helps it go away faster. He said that there is no way of knowing who or who won't have it. Luckily, I had very little, but I had nausea. Research is really smart, until it stops you from going any further. I didn't have a drain, I was in the hospital overnight. Was back at work within a week. I also, am self pay and what I did was got a loan through my credit union for as much of it as I could, then did the rest with the horrible medical financing company with the 19% interest. However, I paid a couple of grand off of it, and then paid it off with a zero percent interest credit card. So, there are options even after you get your original financing! I had to finance 18k.

I took one pain pill when I got home from the hospital, mostly because I felt I should. I had gall bladder surgery too and honestly, this was less pain for me. I was back at work within a week. You will do great!

I'm three months out now, almost four! Oh my! I was pretty sick the first few days after surgery. I threw up, basically anything I put in. Except for sugar free Popsicles. My surgeon said as long as I got protein in, my vitamin and water, he wasn't worried about the food. Just by reading your post, it sounds like some things are fine, but other things are. Just keep a record of what makes you feel sick and what seems to be ok. Everyone is different, Orange Juice would kill me..and I wasn't allowed anything tomato related for 8 weeks. Acidity was the reason. I keep things easy, I only drink water, and decaffeinated tea. I keep sugar free/fat free pudding in the fridge. Cottage cheese like you is one of my favorites. Just go slow, and know this will pass. One thing I've learned over this process, I didn't need as much food as I thought I did to survive!

I put protein powder in my water, I get it from Nectar, it's lemonade ..Funny thing about your post, that was so me! My biggest complaint after the surgery, was that darn it I wanted a DRINK...and water is still the hardest on my tummy if I drink too much. When I mix it with something, then I'm ok. My doc is ok with it and counts it as water intake, but you may want to speak to yours and see if they count it as water.

I love the nectar powders, so so so good.

Well, I admit, I'm horrible at tracking anything. I just pay attention on getting my protein in. I do that mostly with Nectar drinks, in fact that's how I get my water in as well. They have a lemonade flavor that I like. I drink 64 oz of that a day, and it's 46 grams of protein in total. I bet on some days I'm around 1000 calories, and some days I am much less. The protein drinks alone are around 500 calories.(Granted I drink 4 a day, but I also get over 90 grams of protein a day from them). I think 1000 would be easy to hit. I am not a NUT, so I won't offer that sort of suggestions, of whether or not you are getting too much or too little. I would try to up the liquid, and move around more. It's like any sort of health plan. Gotta drink water and gotta move, and I wouldn't think eating even when you aren't hungry would be a good idea, I mean..that's how most of us got here.

I think there is always a lot of things to think about. Ask your surgeon. There are risks when you get in a car, risks when you wake up in the morning. Life surrounds us with risk. This is a very controlled risk. The reason I went with my surgeon,( as I had three to choose from ) was the first day I met him. He sat down and looked at me and said, "Ask me anything" , then he asked me things. To this day, every time I see him he starts with , "Ask me anything, Tell me any concerns or thoughts" then he goes over blood work etc. I asked him his success rate, etc. I also asked about leaks, and other complications. He told me how he "double" seals and has not had one leak. So, I figure he wouldn't want to break that streak with me! It is scary, I was scared because I had to get two loans to pay for it, and if something went wrong, not only would I not be working but I would have to pay for everything out of pocket. It was already $18,000. No one can tell you it "can't" or "won't" happen, but the risk you are taking by having all the health issues you have currently, controlled or not is a higher risk. When I left the hospital I was nauseated, and that night heaved quite a bit. I called him, and he called me back within an hour, as I was afraid I'd pop every seal that he put in. He gave me something to help with the nausea and he said, "Don't worry, I tie really good knots"

I still like mostly the same things myself. Except, I always had a sweet tooth. I'd love a bite of chocolate, ice cream and put me in front of a brownie......YUM..but I was sleeved three months ago. I decided to have a mini snickers, ate half and thought *shrugs* it wasn't nearly as yummy as I wanted it to be! So, I haven't had a sweet since. Now.........give me a cracker...............

I'm three months out, and I used to go out all the time. Lunch everyday, and Dinners on weekends. Since I've been sleeved, I have not had one bit of any type of fast food, and I've been to a restaurant twice. I've found, I don't really enjoy it. Few reasons, you can't drink a nice glass of iced tea while chatting with your friends as it fills you up, and you can't have it after for 30 minutes and I really enjoyed chatting with a cool drink. I end up really overpaying for just a few bites of food. You can do it, but I have a feeling you just won't be doing so very often and honestly I thought I would miss it but....I dont!

I am now three months out, and have done pretty good overall. I found myself so focused on how many =pounds= I was losing. Comparing, to those here even though I tried not to. Playing that head game of, am I like others? am I not doing it right ? etc........and today...WAKE up call. I had my three month checkup and as always I do labwork. My cholesterol is under 190 now ( used to be 230) , my triglycerides rather than being over 250 are now 170. My good cholesterol is up, my Vitamin D went from 16, to 52. My blood pressure when has always been borderline high, is now 127 over 78. I am losing weight, I have really no side affects other than hair loss and sometimes I feel like I will never have a normal bowel movement again.....and my blood work has NEVER looked better. I would guarantee many =average sized= people don't have these sort of numbers. So, I guess what I am trying to say.....is if you are like me. Dreaming of every pound lost, grumbling when it doesn't seem to be enough. Remind yourself, that this is way more than what the scale says. Even though I am no where near my goal, my body within three months is healthier than it's been in 20 years. The mind games I play with myself is amazing!

Yeah, I would do what your doc says. I didn't have to do a thing different. No pre-op diet at all and haven't had any complications. It just totally depends on the surgeon and what he needs for the procedure.

Wow, everyone is amazing, I haven't seem to have been able to lose as fast as most of you, but I'm moving along! I was sleeved April 10th, and I am at 41 pounds lost. I didn't do any pre-op dieting, so this is just all since surgery. I just really over the last two weeks have nailed down how to get all my protein in and my water and have started back at the gym.

I was really tired for awhile as well. I would come here and hear about people walking 2 miles a week after surgery and think to myself HOW? Walking to the mailbox and I needed a nap! It gets easier. Protein helps a lot, but in the end. You are healing, and on the inside your body is running a marathon. You should be tired. We lived on carbs, which are energy boosters, and crashers..so it's just your body saying, WTH?! It's all good!

Heh......never thought I would start a thread using that term! I know it's common, I haven't had a =movement= in three days. I started taking Metamucil, I've even taken a laxative and nothing is a happening! What items have you guys tried with success to keep things moving regular?

You make look older, but I would almost guarantee you won't act it. With this weight gone, you will have pep in your step! I don't know about you, but right now I feel like I need naps, my knees pop when I move....Talk about old!